Patients' satisfaction with humane care in critical care units

Background: It is important to assess the provision of care in a humane framework to achieve patients' holistic needs in Critical Care Units (CCUs) and to promote health outcomes. The aim of the current study was to determine patients' satisfaction with humane care in CCUs. Materials and Methods: In the current descriptive–analytical study, data were collected from 225 patients admitted to the CCUs of seven teaching hospitals in Lorestan Province, Iran, in 2017. The Persian version of the Revised Humane Caring Scale (P-RHCS) was used in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (independent t-test and one-way ANOVA). Results: The mean (SD) overall score of the P-RHCS was 4.61 (0.53), which indicated that patients were highly satisfied with humane care. The patients were most satisfied with “professional performance” [mean (SD) 4.72 (0.60)] and “interdisciplinary collaboration” [mean (SD) 4.72 (0.65)], and the least satisfied with “awareness of and contribution to self-care” [mean (SD) 4.23 (0.78)]. The findings revealed that patients' satisfaction with humane care depends on their demographic and clinical characteristics. Conclusions: Generally, patients were satisfied with humane care provided in CCUs; however, it is recommended that nurses' skills be reinforced, especially regarding information provision and effective communication with patients to improve health outcomes.